"Most Of All, It's Built To Last"

Melee
"Devils And Angels" Review (3/5)

The constant growth of Orange County’s Melee has been a steady one since their move to Warner Brothers from their break on Sub-City Records. Devils and Angels is their first shot at mainstream stardom, putting their album up for listen through various online outlets. The initial sound is a blend of light, stringy melodies with echo vocals. This sort of style was made popular by such bands like the defunct Further Seems Forever.

Most of the tracks off this album are catchy and upbeat. Devils and Angels also seems to be influenced by Elton John with the constant pop piano. In songs such as, “Can't Hold On” and “Love Carries On,” the instruments seem to flow together dispute the same rubric sound being outputted through the speakers. A steady drum beat behind a light piano melody, constant palm muting and the occasional lead guitar riff. This album is entertaining, but this could have a similar effect to the last 30 Seconds to Mars disc, a strong album which has no stamina.

The most pleasurable aspect of this album besides the light melodies is the way the vocals work with the lyrics. Chris Cron makes his voice flow along to the instruments with his light voice. Songs such as “Drive Away” or “Built To Last” prove his soft, make-out vocals repeat worthy. “Frequently Baby” and “Biggest Mistake” shows his ability to carry notes while not sounding like something out of American Idol. The occasional chants throughout this album make for a good time in a live setting too while leaving room to make any of these tracks acoustic worthy.

Melee has a good amount of catchy tunes. The last tracks sort of fall flat, but it could be that 10 tracks in, one can get bored of the light melodies and piano. The band even managed to incorporate a cover song of Hall And Oates’ “You Make My Dreams” as the last song of the album. This does not only prove that once again one can never go wrong with a 80s cover, but that the bands falls into the influence of light, fun, old-school pop. Devils and Angels is a great album in moderation.